In the last presidential campaign we saw attack ads from both parties, but most prominent were the ones indirectly targeting Obama’s race. Described as a “food stamp president,” President Obama still faces racism. According to Ian Haney Lopez, Professor of Law at UC Berkeley, this isn’t the first time racial language has been used in politics. Terms like “welfare queen” have indirectly mentioned race by playing off of modern stereotypes associated with minorities and welfare. But what effect has this had on the general public? Tying together some of the most prominent themes in politics, Haney Lopez’s new book, Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class, explores the connection between “dog whistle” appeals and the destruction of the Middle Class. He explores the history of race in politics and how “dog whistle” tactics undermine liberalism and add to growing economic insecurity of the Middle Class. Given this trend, what will the 2016 election hold?
Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Elliott Bay Book Company
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